Sondrel Plc Regulatory News (SND)

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK Market Abuse Regulation

01 March 2023

Sondrel (Holdings) plc

("Sondrel", the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries the "Group")

Successful Key Milestone Completion - Tapeout for Home Network ASIC project

Sondrel (Holdings) plc (AIM: SND), the fabless semiconductor business providing turnkey services in the design and delivery of 'application specific integrated circuits' ("ASICs") and 'system on chips' ("SoCs") for leading global technology brands, is pleased to announce that, as previewed in the trading update announced on 15 February 2023, it has successfully taped out an ASIC design (the "Project") for a leading provider of home network devices (the ''Customer'').

The Customer approached Sondrel with a partially finished design looking to utilise Sondrel's industry leading capabilities to complete the design of the ASIC. The design phase of the Project has now been completed and the Project taped out. The Company will now progress with the New Product Introduction (NPI) and prototyping services being provided to the Customer, ahead of the product being released to production thereafter.

The Project design contract was awarded to the Company in late 2022 and was fully funded by the Customer.

The Project is estimated to be worth £1.8 million to Sondrel in 2023, encompassing the partial design and NPI phases referenced above, with a view to the ASIC entering production at the start of 2024. Based on production volumes and product lifetime currently projected by the Customer, revenues associated with the production and supply of the ASIC could be worth in excess of US$25 million over five years.

Tapeout signals completion of the design phase of an ASIC and the handover of all data to the silicon foundry which is contracted to manufacture the ASIC. This tapeout data is used to initiate the generation of photomasks by the foundry, which are then used to produce prototype silicon wafers. These wafers are then packaged and tested before delivery to the customer for prototype assessment. Upon approval of the prototypes, further samples undergo qualification and reliability testing before the product is released to production. 

Graham Curren, Chief Executive Officer of Sondrel, commented:

"I am pleased to announce this new tapeout, our second since our IPO in Q4 last year. This Customer wanted to benefit from Sondrel's expertise in completing the design phase of one of its existing ASICs with Sondrel subsequently responsible for taping out the design, new product introduction and prototyping services. This is a clear validation of Sondrel's standing within the market, with customers knowing they will get a fast and extremely reliable service in the design of their chips.

"All of our end markets are supported by strong and enduring megatrends. This project specifically is driven by the ongoing increase in data consumption and demand for improved performance which has resulted in the need for increasingly advanced wireless communication technologies. We look forward to progressing with the new product introduction and prototyping phases ahead of the product entering production in 2024."

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About Sondrel

Sondrel is a UK-based fabless semiconductor company specialising in high end, complex digital Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and System on Chips (SOCs). It provides a full turnkey service in the design, prototyping, testing, packaging and production of ASICs and SoCs.

The Company is one of only a few companies capable of designing and supplying the higher-spec chips built on the most advanced semiconductor technologies, selling into a range of hyper growth end markets such as high-performance computing, automotive, artificial intelligence, VR/AR, video analytics, image processing, mobile networking and data centres. Sondrel designs have enabled products by leading technology brands including Apple (iPhone), Sony (PlayStation), Meta's (Oculus), Samsung, Google and Sony smartphones, JVC (prosumer camcorders), Tesla and Mercedes-Benz cars.

Sondrel is well-established, with a 20-year track record of successful delivery, supported by long standing ecosystem partnerships including Arm, TSMC and Samsung. Headquartered in the UK, Sondrel has a global presence with offices in UK, USA, China, India and Morocco.

For more information please visit: ir.sondrel.com